August 31, 2008
(Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 17)
Called to Serve
By The Very Rev. Terry White, Dean
Exodus 3:1-15 • Psalm 105:1-6,
23-26, 45c • Romans 12:9-21
• Matthew 16:21-28
(From
The Lectionary Page)
The Rev. David Knight is a graduate of Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. As a student, David did field education work with me for two years. He is now the rector of St. Patrick’s Church, Long Beach, Mississippi. He was rector there three years ago when Hurricane Katrina leveled much of Long Beach, including St. Patrick’s building. Yesterday afternoon David sent this email:
Dear Friends,
The people of the Gulf Coast, and especially me and my family, covet your prayers as another major hurricane bears down on us. The path prediction takes Gustav a little west of us, which could still impact us pretty severely. Of course, we all know that those predictions are iffy this far out. Katrina was certain to hit far east of here at this stage in its life.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is alive and well on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. You cannot imagine the sense of panic, anxiety, nausea, fear, despair. Much of it is unjustified, but that's kinda the point when you suffer from PTSD I think. And it is a corporate illness. I sense it within myself from time to time, along with an overwhelming feeling of "I cannot do this again". . .
Plans at this moment are to hold church in the morning for those still in town. We gather at 9:00 am Central Daylight time. We would love for you to somehow join us in prayer, and also if you would remember all those in harm's way.
We have been touched by your care, concern, prayers, and ministry to us. Thank you for being there once again. On behalf of the people of St Patrick's and the Knight family, thank you and God bless. Hope to talk to each of you very soon, with a good report of minimal impact from Gustav.”
We had planned this morning to pray for the gulf coast on the third anniversary of Katrina’s devastation, and now those prayers have expanded as Gustav bears down. We pray today with a greater understanding of what can happen, and how vast the needs may be. And whatever happens, we will respond, through the work of the Church in dioceses of the gulf coast and through Episcopal Relief and Development.
Following Katrina and Rita, the Episcopal Church went to work in Long Beach. Father Knight’s parish building was all but completely destroyed, but the real St. Patrick’s Church, the people of that parish, came together to reach out. One of the many immediate needs in Long Beach and throughout the coast was medical attention and obtaining medication. David’s wife Jennifer, a registered nurse, was a leader in organizing Camp Coast Care. As so many doctors and health care professional had evacuated, Camp Coast Care became virtually the only medical center for many miles around. Life saving medicines to treat heart conditions, diabetes, asthma and other chronic diseases, were distributed through the ministry developed there. During those first weeks of work, our own diocese raised funds for over twenty generators to be sent to the gulf coast, and Fr. Knight was sure that the generator the cathedral supplied went to Camp Coast Care because as it provided dependable electricity to help store food and medicine, it also created the marvelous aroma of Kansas City BBQ which lifted spirits. Jennifer and David provided effective pastoral leadership, and as certain utilities came to be restored, they opened their home as place where volunteers could soak in a real life bath tub.
The work of Camp Coast Care grew and expanded, and medical volunteers arrived to meet immediate needs. The Episcopal Church, was the leader in relief efforts, and soon was joined in Mississippi by the Lutheran Church to provide even more assistance. After the medical crisis eased, Camp Coast Care began to provide hospitality to volunteers in the form of overnight accommodations and other facilities as work crews arrived to participate in the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast.
But over the last several days, Camp Coast Care has been dismantled, and supplies stored as safely as possible, until Gustav passes.
In this context, words from today’s Gospel must give us pause: “Jesus said, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."
The Cross of Christ brings liberation, and inspires us to serve. But the cross too often is distorted, and used to enslave people.
One such distortion turns the cross into a symbol of violence: the burning cross of the KKK or the cross stamped on brochures urging hatred toward a particular group. These distorted crosses awaken a profound sadness in people of faith who find the cross of Christ a sign of God’s love and grace. Thomas Troeger writes: Surely Christ weeps when anyone, passionately convinced that a cause is divinely inspired, uses the cross to justify hatred and violence. (Proclamation, 1999, p. 203)
The other major distortion of the cross is perhaps even more insidious because it can appear in the guise of Christian devotion. This is the cross of passivity. We hear it said about someone who endures an abusive relationship or of a group that repeatedly suffers injustice: “It is their cross to bear.” The cross calls us to rebel against evil and claim the justice and respect that God wills for all people.
The cross of hatred and the cross of passivity are enslaving crosses. And they are a complete distortion of what Christ teaches. Today’s gospel text guards against these distortions in several ways.
First, Jesus does not command us to bear the cross. He says, “If any want to become my followers, let them . . .” There is enormous stress placed on the freedom of the decision. Not only is it a matter of choice, but once people have indicated their willingness to shoulder this burden, the cross is not imposed on them. (Ibid.)
Furthermore, once we take up the cross, if that is what we decide to do, then we are called to follow Jesus, to move forward. We do not standstill. We march into the midst of pain and suffering, we travel through the valley of the shadow of death, and we serve the poor, the helpless, the marginalized and the forgotten.
Like our Lord, at times we will pray for this cup to pass from us, and we too may cry out with a sense of abandonment as he did. But again, like Jesus, we also know that the ultimate outcome of carrying the cross is not suffering and death, but resurrection and life. (Ibid.)
If you and I as individuals, and together as the Church, take up the true cross, then we are not enslaved, but liberated. We find our lives, as Jesus promises.
Paul writes of how we live once we take up the cross in today’s gospel reading: Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
The streets of Kansas City and the gulf coast are but two places this morning where you and are called to serve. If we are willing, and if we want to take up the cross, and if we follow Jesus, then the true meaning of life will be known to us.
Let love be genuine.
And God bless those in harm’s way.
